“The Price” (3×08)
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An interesting episode, to be sure. It didn’t entirely work for me, but there was certainly a lot to chew on. It basically laid the groundwork for the next two Trek series, by introducing the idea of a stable wormhole to the Gamma Quadrant and by introducing the idea of a ship getting stuck in the Delta Quadrant and having to take the long way home. If I recall correctly, Voyager would actually encounter these two Ferengi at some point, and discover that they had used their replicator to establish themselves as gods to a primitive culture.
It’s also the introduction of the Barzans, native to the resource-poor Barzan II — likely a Class K rather than a Class M planet. Based on the fact that D. Nhan was the only Barzan in Starfleet during the 23rd century, and the fact that Barzan II doesn’t join the Federation until the 25th century, contact between the Barzans and the Federation, while not hostile, was probably fairly minimal.
I liked Riker getting to put his poker skills to work, and I really liked Elizabeth Hoffman’s performance as the Barzan premier who is trying to get the most possible for her people without alienating anybody that they don’t want as an enemy.
Where the episode doesn’t quite work for me is Troi’s whirlwind romance with Devinoni Ral. In their early scenes together, he comes off as a creep rather than a dashing romantic, and that colors the rest of the relationship for me. We later learn that he’s an empath, so he could read Troi’s desire for him. But without that context, it reads a bit like him forcing himself on her, first with the kiss in Troi’s quarters, and then in the counselor’s office, when he starts caressing her hair. Even the way Marina Sirtis plays those scenes, Troi seems more uncomfortable than she does aroused. The later scenes, where lust gives way to something more genuinely intimate, play better. But I found those early scenes so offputting that I couldn’t go along for the ride with Troi.
I did enjoy the workout scene with Troi and Crusher, where Crusher emphatically endorses having a firecracker affair that burns bright but burns fast. It’s one of the few moments in the Berman era of Trek where a woman’s sexual desire is considered on its own terms, rather than in the context of the male series regulars.
There is also a terrific scene between Ral and Riker in Ten Forward. Ral thinks he’s engaged in a dick-measuring contest, but Riker is genuinely Troi’s friend first and ex with unresolved feelings second. Ral thinks he’s pressing his advantage, but really he’s just revealing the ways in which he is inadequate.
Impacts on Star Trek Continuity:
The episode reinforces that hybrids who are three-quarters human and one-quarter Betazoid don’t necessarily have the Betazoid eyes. Which helps explain why in season one of “Picard”, Kestra Troi-Riker has grayish-green eyes instead of her mother’s entirely black irises.
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